Branding, Blogging, Creative, the Future - with a touch of Oriental Five Spice

Monday, 28 July 2008

From the Shanghaiist - Beijing's Nike Advertising Whitewash

As Nike is not an official sponsor of the Olympics, it's having to deal with it's adverts being whitewashed in Beijing. The photos above show an underpass at Dongdan, right in the middle of the city and next to the ever busy Wanfujing shopping street. As of the 19th July, the government imposed restrictions on advertising by unofficial advertisers in the city. The underpass that was last week plastered with Nike advertisements has now been whitewashed.

Adidas, on the other hand, as an official sponsor, has the right to use trademarked Olympic images and slogans and the permission to set up hospitality areas near the stadiums. While Nike has a strong retail presence in the city, with stores in prestigious locations, come the start of the games on 08.08.08, Adidas will have a more visible presence in the city. It will be interesting to see whether Nike tries to sidestep official advertising policies over the duration of the games and what tactics they might use in doing so.